More than two million Afghans at risk of becoming severely food insecure due to the ongoing drought which affecting two-thirds of the country, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report released on Monday.
The report said that water points and fountains across the country have dried up and the lack of rain and snow melt has made rivers run low or dry up completely.
According to the report, due to the lack of water, farmers have chosen to minimize their losses by delaying planting crops and reducing field sizes.
The report said that lack of water also affected farmers with livestock and pastoralists like the nomadic Kuchi tribe as pasturelands have partially or completely dried up or are overgrazed, leaving flocks with little or no feed.
Following the issue, Akbar Rustami, Spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock said that more than 5,000 tonnes of animal foodstuffs have been distributed to the affected people and 4,000 tonnes more are under distribution process.
The OCHA report also said that Humanitarian partners need $115 million to respond to the needs of the 1.4 million most vulnerable people hit by the drought.
Mohammad Aslam Sayas, Deputy Director General of the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) said that assistance underway in the drought-affected provinces.
“After foodstuffs that come from provinces, the impact level of drought on the agriculture is being measured and thereafter, the affected farmers are receiving our assistance,” he said.
Some economic analysts, however, believe the government has been failed to address the problems of affected people on time and manage the water resources in the country.
Source Ariana News
